


Tough Times

by Vilya_Mariposa



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Third Doctor Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22313014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vilya_Mariposa/pseuds/Vilya_Mariposa
Summary: An alien crash lands on Earth and the Doctor and Jo go to offer their assistance.
Kudos: 1





	Tough Times

Ch’ishiishashii suddenly wished for a fourth arm as he tried to keep his ship together. Another alarm dashed those hopes. Cursing loudly in his native tongue he freed one of his three arms and looked at his landing options. He cursed at the lack of abundant swampland on the only planet within range but decided it would have to do. He abandoned the pilot’s seat and headed for the escape pod.

The ship’s hull finally gave up and cracked like an egg as the gravity of Earth pulled it in. The escape pod only slightly ahead of the conflagration of the ship’s disintegration.

***

“No one paid it much mind you see, but a British destroyer off the coast of Bermuda thought they picked up a distress beacon. The astronomers at Jordell Bank have assured me that it is not part of the Leoinid meteor swarm as it changed course at least once as far as they can tell.” Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbrige-Stewart held out a folder to the Doctor. “They also picked up this transmission, but just barely.”

The Doctor handed his mug to Jo and took the file and looked at it. “T’aa’aniit’e.”

“Gesundheit.” said the Brigadier.

The Doctor scowled, “The T’aa’aniit’e are a race of reptilian methane breathers, known for their scientific skills.”

“Methane breathers?”

“Yes, instead of oxygen they breathe methane. They can breathe oxygen for a while, but unless the pilot had a supplemental supply of methane with him he’s bound to be in deep trouble very soon.” He looked at the file for a moment. “They picked up a weak signal around Bermuda you said?”

“Yes.”

The Doctor studied a wall chart for a moment, calculating the course. “If the pilot ejected safely, changed course only once, then he would have probably aimed for a jungle or a swamp, one you could see from space...” He squinted at the map for a moment. “Here. He would try to land here.”

“The Florida Everglades? Why there?”

“A swamp near a spaceport. A logical place to try and land for a spacefaring people.”

***

Colonel Peter Harper walked toward the pair getting off the helicopter. “Welcome to Homestead Air Force Base, I’m Colonel Harper, I’ve been assigned to your detail while you are here.”

“Did you....” an explosion made the Doctor jump and Jo drop, “Great jumping... what was that?”

Harper was livid when he spotted a man leaping about in glee, “MAD DOG!! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT UNAUTHORIZED EXPLOSIONS?!” he turned to the Doctor who was helping Jo up. “Perhaps we’d better move this inside.”

“Who is this Mad Dog?”

“One of my men. He’s an asset to UNIT, just not all of the time.”

“And his name is Mad Dog?”

“Marvin Dodson actually, you won’t find a better tracker this side of the Mississippi.” He returned the salute of the door guard and led them into a temporary war room. “We may need his skills. On the night in question a large meteor was seen streaking into the swamp, down toward this area near Santini Bight.”

“What are these flags?”

“Swamp ape sightings.”

“Swamp ape?”

“A local legend in these parts, and it would be easy to mistaken your downed pilot for one,” at the Doctor’s look, he continued, “I am going by the description written by you, Dr. Smith.”

“Just Doctor will be fine. And you are putting credence into these sightings?”

“Sightings and smellings.”

“Smellings?” Jo asked.

“The swamp ape is also called the skunk ape, Miss Grant. Not that swamps smell all that great to begin with.”

The Doctor humpfed as he was handed a cup of coffee, “The Everglades smell better then most swamps I’ve been in.”

***

Ch’ishiishashii was willing to admit to sheer terror. He’d heard all about these humans for years, his curiosity getting the better of him, he’d volunteered to run the survey of this system. Now he was here, getting shot at by primitive weapons his beautiful scales taking the brunt of the impacts. Now he sat, crouched in a ditch as a group of them walked by his hiding place.

“It’s ‘round here somewhere, smell that Bubba?” Not that this human had room to talk considering how he smelled.

“Are you sure it’s such a good idea to shoot at it? We might make it mad.” Young but levelheaded.

“Its just a stupid animal, Bubba.”

“But Jim Bob at the gas station...”

“Sh! Hear that?”

Ch’ishiishashii had taken a risk in breathing deeply from his emergency supply, but he knew he’d be dead without it.

The aggressive older one whirled when he heard a noise. “Sounds like Mad Dog’s pissin off the gators again. You’d think he does it on purpose. C’mon Bubba.”

Ch’ishiishashii listened to the pair move off, took another breath from his tank then pulled out his scanner. He picked up several large reptiles, these “gators” that frightened the humans, and a promising pocket of methane where he could spend the night. He moved slowly, his emergency tank keeping him alive, but doing nothing for the ache in his lungs. He lugged the sack of fruit behind him. He had found it laying on the road, abandoned in haste. The crunchy brown outer shell was fairly bland, but the white interior was sweet and juciy. He hoped it would sustain him for a while until he could fix his beacon and be rescued.

***

Jo wrinkled her nose in disgust as Mad Dog grabbed another fistful of grass and shoved his nose in it. The Doctor sighed, “Must you?”

Mad Dog looked over his shoulder at the dandy and smiled, “Got a rep to maintain, Doc. I think our friend helped himself to the coconuts back there.”

Colonel Harper was unaffected by Mad Dog’s antics by now. “We don’t need details.”

“Joe Bob and his son Bubba were here.”

“Who?” The Doctor asked.

“Poacher and his boy.” Mad Dog picked up the butt of a cigarette, “Yep, ode de Joe Bob.”

Harper leaned over to the Doctor and Jo, “I’m afraid that’s one odor that’s not an exaggeration.”

“Why are you putting that in your bag?” asked Jo.

“I hate litterbugs.” Mad Dog began his creep through the tall weeds. “I hear gators.”

Whereas the rest of the soldiers had been falling asleep on their feet, now they pulled out their largest guns and formed up in a tight group around the Doctor and Jo. The Doctor sighed again, “Is this necessary?”

Harper answered tersely, “Yes. Don’t go too far, Mad Dog!”

Mad Dog popped up over the grass, “Pussies.” He held up something small and angry that hissed at them. “Found them.” He disappeared back in the grass.

One of the men looked at the Colonel, “Can I shoot him now, sir?”

“I thought that alligators were bigger than that.” Jo said.

The Doctor smiled, “That’s a baby. They can get as long as the TARDIS is tall.” The wind shifted and the Doctor straightened, “Wait, I know that smell.”

Mad Dog emerged from the tall grass and pointed in a direction, then waved some fingers. When he saw the look of confusion on the Doctor’s face he whispered, “Fifteen, twenty yards, max, that way.”

The Doctor gave Jo’s arm a squeeze, then strode out of the safety of the group, “Hello! I’m the Doctor! We’re here to help you...”

“Doctor...” hissed Harper.

“Be quiet!” The Doctor strode further into the swamp, “We know you crashed, we picked up your signal. We’ve come to help you!”

Slowly, carefully, a tall scaly creature emerged from exactly where Mad Dog had pointed, cradling one arm with another, the third dragging a bag of survival gear. It walked stiffly, and dragged one of its three legs awkwardly. “Who are you?” it hissed in hesitant English, its nine eyes surveying the small group.

“I’m the Doctor, this is Jo Grant, Colonel Harper and his men.”

“I am Ch’ishiishashii of the T’aa’aniit’e.”

“I know of your people, expert scientists, cautious explorers.”

Ch’ishiishashii sniffed the air, “You are not of this planet.”

“I’m from Gallifrey. Let’s get you tended to.”

“Please, have them put their weapons down.”

The Doctor turned and looked at Colonel Harper, “Colonel?”

“Stand down. Tucker and Wassermann, go get the truck. Mad Dog, you and Hildebrandt keep an eye out for the gators. Kelso, call back to base and alert them we’re bringing back injured.”

***

Jo watched as the Doctor and Ch’ishiishashii fixed what was wrong with the emergency beacon. They would get distracted, chat about scientific concepts and theorems that went over her head. Eventually she drifted off to sleep.

“Care for a spot of tea, Jo?” The Doctor turned and his features softened. She was leaning up against the set of file drawers, fast asleep.

Ch’ishiishashii watched as the Doctor took a spare blanket, tenderly covering up the girl. “I will watch her and my indicators. It is the least I can do to repay you.”

“Oh, speaking of things,” the Doctor pulled a metal disk from his pocket. “Mad Dog found this in the swamp. I recognized its significance.”

“My family crest! I feared it lost! Thank you!” He took the cleaned up disk and placed it inside his new coveralls, hashed up for him by Mad Dog.

“I’m going to the mess hall, would you like anything?”

“I am fine, those fruits, coconuts, were quite filling.”

The Doctor chuckled as he left, “I’ll return shortly.”

***

Jo startled awake when the rock broke the window. She gave a short scream and found herself pulled to the floor by Ch’ishiishashii. She snuggled up against him, listening to the commotion outside.

“WHO THREW THAT ROCK?!” Harper was shouting.

“Come on Peter! Let us at it!”

“Kill the monster!”

“There is no monster here and if I find out who threw that rock...”

“Kill the freak!”

“You are trespassing on US government property! You can and will be arrested!”

“We know you got the swamp ape in there!”

“Go Home!”

“Send out the freak!”

Jo turned to Ch’ishiishashii, “What’s that beeping noise?”

“My people have entered the solar system, they will be here in less than an hour!”

“Then we’d better get going.” Mad Dog crouched down and looked under the table, “Miss Grant, can you handle a gun?”

“Yes.” 

He pulled a belt and holster out of his sack and handed it to her, “Then let’s get your friend out of here.”

Jo scribbled a note for the Doctor and then followed Ch’ishiishashii and Mad Dog out of the building.

***

Ch’ishiishashii checked the readout and shouted to Mad Dog, “We should find a place to wait! My people are entering the atmosphere!” He swiveled some of his eyes to look at an approaching cloud bank.

Mad Dog pulled the vehicle off the road and helped Jo and Ch’ishiishashii out of the battered truck. He hustled them off to the side of the road as the truck burst into flames. “Don’t want anyone to follow us, this way.”

“But your truck!”

Mad Dog gave his maniacal smile, “It’s not mine. It belongs to that scurvy poacher, Joe Bob.”

“What about the alligators?”

“Gators sleep at night, too cold for them to move about.”

Mad Dog made a gesture and they dropped into a clump of reeds. “The wind shifted.”

Suddenly the winds tripled and the three beings hunkered down as a cloud bank that had been approaching broke open to reveal a ship, sleek and businesslike.

“Cool.” whispered Mad Dog.

Ch’ishiishashii turned his eyes to the humans, “Thank you for all you have done. Pass my thanks to Doctor, tell him I owe him a debt of honor. Please, stay hidden until we depart.” He got up and hobbled for the ship, which had touched down and lowered some kind of large scoop.

Jo and Mad Dog watched as Ch’ishiishashii climbed into the scoop and was lifted into the ship, which turned and took off quickly. It began to rain in earnest and Mad Dog pulled Jo to a better sheltered area to wait out the weather.

***

The Doctor was riding in one the American jeeps when he caught sight of blonde hair. “Stop, I think I see them!” He stood up as the vehicle stopped, then climbed out and ran across the marshy land.

Jo gave a delighted squeal and ran to the Doctor. “Oh! Are you a sight for sore eyes!”

“Ch’ishiishashii get on his way?”

“Yes, and he sends you his thanks and a debt of honor.”

“That’s good. Are you ready to go home?”

“She is.” said Mad Dog, “She saw the biggest gator in the Everglades.”

“It was horrible!”

“Did I ever tell you about the Venusian crocodiles? Five feet around, fifteen feet long, sweetest gentlest creatures you’ll ever meet...”


End file.
